


The Darcy Card

by emma98



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, bucky and sam:bro-nemies, did you ever have that one person that you couldn't be angry around? Darcy is that person for Steve, the Avengers realize that Darcy is their get out of jail free card
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-28 23:56:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7662133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emma98/pseuds/emma98
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>We all have that one person who turns our frowns upside down.  The person you just can't be mad or sad or angry around.  Darcy Lewis is that person for Steve Rogers.  </p>
<p>Natasha figured it out first, and eventually all the rest of his friends figure it out too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Darcy Card

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is a one shot that wouldn't leave me be. I hope that you enjoy it!

**The Darcy Card**  
  


It was Natasha that noticed it first.

 

Because Natasha always noticed everything first.

 

Back in 2014, after the fall of SHIELD, Steve had been particularly annoyed with her after a recon mission to obtain Loki's scepter, because she had gone missing for exactly five minutes.  Those five minutes were spent downloading all Hydra files at the medical facility.  The files had not been much help, the Winter Soldier had never been at that particular facility in Switzerland.  But she would never stop searching whenever given the opportunity.

 

The Winter Soldier had spared her life twice, and had taught her the skills necessary to survive.  Among other things that she did not talk about.  Ever.  She would do what was necessary in order to try and help him somehow.

 

But she couldn't tell Steve what she had been doing.  If he knew that she trying to find a way to help Bucky, then that would be his entire focus, figuring out a way to help her.  And he would very likely hurt himself in trying even harder to bring his best friend back.  Steve only thought she was disobeying orders and didn't trust him.  Which was the furtherest thing from the truth.  She trusted him too much to have him involved in such messy affairs.

 

Thor was in London now, helping Jane and Darcy to pack up their operations and move back to the United States.  Natasha set the course of the quinjet for there.  Usually Thor could manage to get Steve out of these sour moods.  And if he couldn't, then certainly, Darcy, who Steve had only met once prior, might be able to do something.  Natasha had known Darcy since she came back from Norway after the Chitauri invasion. The spy had the highest amount of respect for Jane Foster's little intern.  

 

Darcy had a unique set of skills, after all.  Natasha had faith in her abilities, but she couldn’t have been prepared for just how effective having Darcy around an angry Steve would be.

 

Steve was sullen on the plane.  Grouchy when they deboarded.  Miserable when they took one of the cars Fury had stashed all over Europe to get to Jane's flat.  He was absolutely unbearably sour when they climbed the steps.

 

"I wasn't doing anything wrong," Natasha insisted.  "I wish that you would trust me."

 

"I do trust you," Steve insisted.  "I understand that you only have the greatest of intentions here.  But when you don't tell me what you're doing, I realize that you don't trust  _ me _ ."

 

Natasha blinked, which was her closest physical reaction to exasperation that she had.  Their argument was cyclical.  But usually, with time, the rough edges would be smoothed over and their friendship would return to normal.  Natasha just wished that there was a fast forward button.

 

"OH THANK THE EIGHT POUND SIX OUNCE BABY JESUS, YOU'RE HERE!"

 

Natasha suddenly had her arms full of a five foot three bundle of sass and dark brown curls.  Darcy squeezed her tightly before quickly letting go and immediately throwing herself at Steve's broad chest, wrapping her arms around his torso.  Steve's face went PURPLE and he brought his arms around her very slowly, but not awkwardly, his chin resting against the top of Darcy's head.  Natasha watched with interest as every ounce of sullen, grouchy and miserable attitude disappeared from Steve's face nearly instantaneously.  

 

His eyes closed and a calm, content warmth blanketed his features as he held Darcy to him as she began blubbering about packing tape, and Thor, and Jane and her stupid intern doing an experiment, and Mew Mew, and it being taped to the coffee table, and then something about how packing tape could never contain Mew Mew's awesomeness and her glasses were now scratched thanks to exploding wood.

 

"It's alright, Miss Lewis, you're heading back to the States, JARVIS can have a new pair of glasses delivered to the Tower for you," Steve soothed her.

 

Natasha's eyes widened imperceptibly.  She had never heard Steve's voice do THAT before.  It was sweet and cajoling and strangely confident.  It was  _ lovely _ , actually.

 

"Told you to call me Darcy," the woman in question's admonishment could be barely heard, muffled as it was against Steve's chest.

 

"Darcy," Steve nodded.

 

"OH!  Now that you're both here, I should probably change the take out order," Darcy wiggled herself out of Steve's comfortable hold.  She turned and grinned at Natasha, "Double chicken korma for you?"

 

"And---"

 

"The naan bread basket.  I got you, sister," Darcy winked.  She looked up at Steve with a little grin and asked, "How spicy is too spicy for you?"

 

"I would prefer having feeling in my lips," Steve smiled.

 

"Hmmmm," Darcy's eyes lit up and Natasha had to say she was impressed with how well Darcy was doing with her self proclaimed spy home schooling.  She'd been trying to get helpful hints from Natasha, Clint, Maria and Sharon for the last year and a half.  Lesson number one was to fix her very broken brain to mouth filter.  It looked like it was working.  Which was a damned shame in Natasha's opinion.

 

"Medium spice, and lots of it," Darcy nodded.  "Could you do me a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge favor?"

 

"Anything," Steve promised.

 

"Could you give the stupid baby intern a mean glare? Like, you were personally offended?" Darcy wondered.  "Because I'm out of packing tape because of his bright ideas.  And my glasses are now broken."

 

"I can do that for you, Darcy," Steve promised.

 

"So awesome," Darcy grinned before leading the way into the flat.

 

Natasha said nothing to Steve.  She simply filed away a lot of very important information.  And she also pulled Darcy from the commercial flight and let her fly with her and Steve back to the States.  She would have to be careful, but she was almost positive she had gotten her get out of jail free card where Steve was concerned.

 

* * *

 

Clint was the next person to notice.  But it was only because Natasha had decided he deserved to.  He had just found out about Laura's pregnancy, and he had been late to an assemble call due to excessive and nearly painful morning sickness.  Steve was disappointed, and while Natasha had no problem with Steve being disappointed in Clint for the normal reasons, i.e., falling asleep during Steve's speeches, stealing the shield to use as a giant pizza plate, or nearly getting arrested for sitting his head under a coffee carafe at a convenience store in Atlanta and opening wide),  she did have a problem with Steve being disappointed in Clint because of her new (hopefully) niece.  Even if Steve didn’t actually know about Clint’s family.

 

So she had made a call. 

 

Clint had walked into the little rundown house they were using as a base of operations as they plotted their intricate raid on one of the last remaining Hydra bases in North America.  Steve looked up and took a deep breath, ready to let Clint have it with both barrels.  And then his whole face lit up.  Because a familiar little head of big dark brown curls popped around Clint's shoulder, and a beautiful gap toothed grin brightened the dark and dank room considerably.

 

"Darce, what are you doing here?" Steve wondered softly.

 

"Clint picked me up, said I was needed?" Darcy shrugged, pleased as punch to be there.  

 

"Nat said she---" Clint began to explain, looking tired and haggard.

 

"Come here, Darcy," Natasha gestured to the chair where she had a laptop ready and waiting.  "We need your help getting the security system down."

 

"Cool," Darcy grinned.  Every once in awhile, when Natasha needed to do an op and couldn't do both the technical aspect and the very awesome physical aspect, she would call in Darcy.  It mostly involved typing in long sequences of nonsensical numbers and letters into the laptop at high speeds, tricking the binary codes into doing what Natasha wanted them to do.  

 

Darcy was pretty awesome at it if she said so herself.

 

Steve lingered in the operations room, even as a clearly forgiven Clint made his way out to the staging area with Natasha.  He watched as Darcy reviewed the step by step instructions Natasha had given her and then put in the comm unit that had been provided.  She struggled with getting it clipped to her ear properly and Steve stepped forward.

 

"Let me," he insisted.

 

"Thanks," Darcy smiled up at him as he essentially caressed her right ear in an attempt to get the thing to fit properly.  "Should I be nervous right now?"

 

"No, not at all," Steve promised.  "We're a good distance away from where we're going in.  And besides, I would never, ever let anything happen to you, Darcy."

 

"Oh.  I believe you," Darcy nodded, the beaming grin she sent Steve made him grin back at her, bigger than he had probably smiled since before the ice.

 

Clint had lingered by the door and watched in interest.  He looked back at a triumphant Natasha and shook his head in amazement.

 

"Thanks," he said genuinely.

 

"Any time.  Just don't abuse the system."

 

* * *

 

 

Pepper knew very quickly after Halloween 2015.  Steve had been morose for days due to his continued fruitless search for Bucky.  She had not been looking forward to telling him that there was a new lawsuit, filed by a seventy-eight year old man who was claiming to be the biological son of one Steven Grant Rogers.

 

It had been a miracle that it had taken three years for the claims to start coming in.  Ironically enough, during his nearly seventy years on ice, there had been no paternity claims.  Pepper had been prepared for the worst right after the Chitauri invasion, but it had taken quite a bit of time for that first lawsuit to come rearing its ugly head.

 

She sat opposite Steve in the conference room, pushing the papers his way for dissemination.  Steve sighed and looked down.

 

"You know, Sally Fitzgerald wouldn't even give me the time of day back in the old neighborhood.  She had a thing for Bucky," Steve revealed.  "But he said he wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole cause even if she had a pretty face she was rotten through and through.  I know it's wrong to speak ill of the dead, but she was a Bitch with a capital B."

 

Pepper smirked down at the table top.  Tony never believed her that Steve could curse a blue streak when he felt it was necessary.  He'd done it three weeks after the Chitauri attack when she told him how much back pay had been deposited into an account she had set up in his name.  

 

"A big B Bitch?  That's kind of serious!" Darcy chirped as she stepped into the conference room.  She handed a Stark tablet to Pepper and an envelope to Steve.  "Please sign off on the expenses for the research and party department."

 

"Darcy, I told you that you didn't have to skimp on the party," Pepper looked down at the totals.

 

"I told you I would pick up whatever the budget didn't," Steve smiled up at her.

 

"I didn't skimp and I didn't go over budget," Darcy promised.  "I just happened to find a place for the booze that gave a discount to a clever, smart, charming girl."

 

"I also told you that you shouldn't be going to Wade for those things," Pepper reminded her.

 

"He's so helpful though!" Darcy pouted.  She grinned down at Steve and gestured to the envelope.  "You gonna open it?"

 

Pepper watched in astonishment as Steve pushed away the file full of paper with the unwanted lawsuit and instead opened up the envelope with obvious delight.  He read what Pepper knew was an invitation, having received one herself upon her arrival at the base.  

 

"Halloween After Party-Party?" Steve looked up at her with a bemused smile.  

 

"You know.  For when we're all sugared up, and some of us are a little tipsy, and we cuddle up and watch movies and stuff," Darcy shrugged, her cheeks turning slightly pink.  

 

"Sounds amazing," Steve nodded.  "Really amazing, Darcy.  I'll be looking forward to it all night."

 

"No, you should enjoy the real party first.  Wade is bringing a taco truck!  He apparently knows a guy."

 

Pepper smiled down at the table top knowingly and made a promise to herself never, ever to tell Tony that Steve technically had a pretty big weakness now.

 

* * *

 

 

Sam found out next.  Sort of.  That was a point of contention between the high flier and another interested party.

 

Sam had messed up.  He would be the first to admit that.  He'd been sloppy and brought one regrettable one night stand back to the base, which was clearly against protocol.

 

And it had been just his luck that the one time he slipped up in his usually meticulous planning of one night stands, he'd managed to hook up with someone from AIM.  

 

And that someone had maybe slipped him a mickey and left him high and dry as soon as they hit his private quarters.

 

And then that someone had PROBABLY used his access card to get into the Research and Development building to try and steal any piece of information they could get from the many varied projects that were happening there.

 

Sam had been damned lucky that Darcy and Friday had that whole building zipped up tighter than his cousin Patricia's pants after Thanksgiving dinner.  The would be one night stand had been corralled into a supply closet and locked there until security, and unfortunately Steve, could arrive.

 

"I just can't understand what in the hell you were thinking!" Steve sounded very much like a disappointed father as he sternly glared at a now awakened and thoroughly ashamed Sam.  "You know that I think you should go out and have all the fun you could want.  I encourage it.  But you never, EVER bring back someone who hasn't been through security clearance.  You know this, Sam."

 

"I know," Sam sighed.

 

"You put every single person on this base in danger, you're damned lucky it was just someone looking to get info," Steve continued onward, clearly just getting started on his lecture.  "This is the first time I've ever had to worry about YOU thinking with the wrong head, I mean---"

 

Sam looked up when Steve's angry words stopped and he looked around to see what Steve was looking at.  Darcy Lewis had just walked in, clearly having just been woken up, decked out in a soft set of blue, flannel pajamas, her hair in a long and messy braid that fell down her back.  She rubbed sleep out of her eyes and tried to pay attention to the head of security that was telling her what had happened.

 

Steve stopped his lecture of Sam immediately and walked towards Darcy, waving off the head of security and looking down at her in concern.  Sam watched in amazement as Steve completely forgot that he was reading him the riot act and walked off with Darcy, offering her his arm when she nearly ran into a wall in her sleepy state.

 

"Well I'll be damned," Sam whispered, looking around to see if anyone else had noticed that.  "That is going to be a lifesaver someday."

 

* * *

 

 

Wanda knew already.  She knew even before having met Darcy.  

 

Natasha had decried that as being unfair.  As Wanda could simply read Steve's mind.

 

Nevertheless, whenever Wanda was feeling tired, or definitely didn't want to go over those ever increasingly crazy maneuvers that Steve had dreamed up, she'd somehow get Darcy front and center, and suddenly Steve didn't care about getting his ass pushed up fifty feet in the air by a blast of friendly red energy.  He only cared about attaching himself to Darcy's side and smiling down at her.

 

Later, much later, when Wanda would want a little extra time with her own special someone, she had no qualms in reaching out to Darcy in order to either distract Steve, or to lessen the protective nature.  it was most convenient.

 

* * *

 

  
  


Bucky knew before Sam.

 

It was one of the many things that they bickered about  _ constantly _ .  Sam argued that they would never really know when Bucky knew about Darcy and her magic effect on Steve or not, since he was too busy trying to play jigsaw puzzle with his mind for two straight years after the fall of SHIELD.  

 

Bucky argued that Wilson was just sore that he had seen it through surveillance tapes.  And that Bucky knew Steve better, even when his mind was essentially deep fried swiss cheese.

 

He knew when Steve Rogers was head over heels for a dame.  And he knew how to reap the benefits.

 

But Sam would never concede that Bucky saw it first from afar.  He'd cling to the knowledge that he had used the information for his own benefit first and best.

 

But no one could argue that Bucky used it the most.

  
  


He'd started right away.  Approaching Darcy at a flea market fifty miles away from the Avenger’s Facility, looking like a harmless, homeless kitten who just needed a warm blanket to cuddle in.  Darcy had of course, alerted Steve immediately, then brought Bucky back to give him that warm blanket and even an offer to cuddle with him.  An offer that he greedily and wholeheartedly accepted.

 

Steve completely forgot about the whole, two year long wild goose chase, much to Sam's displeasure.  Didn't even complain a little.  Steve just watched as Darcy fussed over Bucky, a dreamy smile on his face.

 

And a wide eyed Bucky had clung to Darcy like a lifeline when Natasha came in the next day with a knowing smirk and a report a mile long regarding the damage Bucky had done to that last Hydra stronghold he had found in the Andes.  Even as Sam was spouting his mouth off about Bucky knowing damned well what he was doing.  Steve was incapable of getting angry or even so much as gently scolding Bucky with Darcy sitting right there, petting at Bucky's hair and giving an encouraging smile Steve's way.

 

But forty-eight hours later, after Sam had discovered a kick me sign painted onto his wing pack, and Steve had refused to get fussed about it, thanks to the Darcy card, Sam had definitely had enough.  Bucky had insisted that Darcy chaperone him throughout his day, explaining all the little things he missed, and also giving him a _Captain America is mad at you_ forcefield.  Steve had been watching Darcy teach Bucky how to use a phone before inviting Darcy off with him to find a suitable snack, and Sam stewed at the missed opportunity to essentially tattle.

 

"You and I both know that the man is better with electronics than Steve, already, and he was humming a Fall Out Boy song three hours ago," Sam said lowly to Natasha.  "You need to get your boy in check, or else we are all going to have a problem.  If Darcy or Steve find out what we've been doing for years here, they are not going to be pleased."

 

"You're an idiot," Natasha rolled her eyes at him.

  
  


"And you have a blind spot where Barnes is concerned!" Sam accused.  "Just like Steve's blissed out reaction to Darcy in a room, which we will LOSE if he cops wise to it."

 

"Cops wise?" Bucky smirked.  "What decade are we in, bird brain?"

 

Sam was silent as  Bucky gave him a challenging little grin.  Sam openly glared at the former Winter Soldier when he put a metal arm around Natasha’s shoulders and gave her an affectionate kiss against her temple.  Natasha smirked in response, but was clearly appreciative of Bucky’s amorous touch.  Sam huffed out an annoyed breath.

 

“Man, I really, really hate you.”

 

* * *

 

 

Sam did know that he had an ace up his sleeve now though, and it said something to his frustration in that he was absolutely unwilling to wait to use it. He and Steve had been privy to the reports from the multiple doctors who had evaluated Bucky when he had come in.  They had one thing in agreement Bucky should still go slowly in reintegrating himself into day to day life.  One had even specifically said that he shouldn’t jump into romantic relationships until he felt more settled into life.

 

So Sam was going to be super mature about this whole thing.

 

And totally tattle on Bucky and Natasha both.  

 

He stomped up towards Steve’s quarters and just let himself right in, as he usually did.  

 

“CAP!  You gotta go and put Barnes and Romanoff in check, I think they’re canoodling and you know that’s--- _oh hell_.”

 

Sam covered his eyes at the sight of two naked and entangled bodies on top of Steve’s bed.  From the short glimpse he had gotten, that was definitely Darcy underneath Steve.  

 

“Get the fuck out of here, Wilson!” Steve demanded in a strangled voice.

 

“PRIVACY PROTOCOLS!” Sam shouted back at them.  “Use them!”

 

* * *

 

 

Sam was waiting for Darcy and Steve when dinner rolled around.  He knew that Darcy wouldn’t miss dinner.  She loved chicken tender night at the commissary.  He had the dinner delivered to the Avengers’ common room and sure enough, the smell of fried chicken and french fries pulled Steve and Darcy from their love den.  And even Bucky and Natasha from theirs.

 

“Yes, honey mustard!” Darcy skipped towards the food, only to be physically blocked from dinner by Sam, who was staring down at her with his arms crossed.

 

“We’re talking,” Sam announced.  

 

“Sam,” Steve furrowed his brow.  “Let the lady eat dinner, don’t be rude.”

 

“No, we’re talking,” Sam insisted.

 

“Wilson,” Natasha warned.

 

“We’ve been using Darcy as a get out of Steve-jail free card,” Sam blurted.

 

“You son of a bitch,” Wanda hissed from behind him.

 

“For years,” Sam clarified.

 

“What?” Steve looked confused.

 

“Whenever you’re mad, or whenever we don’t want to do something you want us to do, we drag Darcy out and flash her in front of your face and you go all gooey and compliant,” Sam explained.  “It’s actually pretty awesome.  And I can’t believe that I just lost us that card, but---”

 

“But nothing,” Darcy rolled her eyes.  “You guys don’t think that Steve and I knew that?”

 

Natasha blinked at her and tilted her head slightly to the right.

 

“We’ve kind of been using you guys,” Steve shrugged.  “Darcy didn’t want to go with Jane on her lecture tour, and Natasha figured it out so that she could stay here.”

 

“I love my Janie, but she’s a nightmare on the road,” Darcy admitted.  Steve grabbed her hand and squeezed.  “And I didn’t really want to leave Steve.”

 

“How long has this been going on?” Wanda asked, not understanding how she had missed it.

 

“Uhm,” Steve hedged.  

 

“I met Steve when we were both on the road after our respective alien attacks,” Darcy explained.  “So basically since 2012.  Well, briefly in 2012 and then rekindled when he came to London in 2014.”

 

“What?” Natasha stepped forward and glared between Steve and Darcy.

 

Bucky was only smirking, which irritated Sam.  

 

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Sam looked at Bucky in annoyance.  “You knew?”

 

“I told you I knew,” Bucky obnoxiously shrugged.  

 

“You said you knew that Steve was wrapped around Darcy’s finger,” Sam clarified.

 

“He is, and has been.  Since 2012,” Bucky shrugged.

 

“Why be open about it now? Natasha wondered.

 

“Because Bucky’s home,” Steve smiled at his friend.  “And happy.  Natasha is happy. And everyone is happy, really.”

 

“We didn’t want to rub it in everyone’s faces,” Darcy grinned.  She turned to Sam, who was looking like they were rubbing it very obnoxiously in his face.  

 

“Chicken tender night!  Hell yes!” 

 

Sam’s face went from miserable and angry to delighted and joyous in the span of five seconds.  He turned around and grinned down at Helen Cho, who had a chicken tender in each hand.

 

“Where’s the boom boom sauce?” she questioned.

 

Bucky snorted from the other side of the room.  

 

“I’ll get it for you,” Sam promised, going for the fridge.

 

Steve wrapped an arm around Darcy and took a deep, contented breath as she wound her arms around his waist.  They watched as Sam flirted with Helen as avidly as he could.  Steve kissed the top of Darcy’s head before whispering down at her.

 

“ _ That _ is going to come in handy someday.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Oh Steve and Darcy and your little sneaky twist! 
> 
> Also, I'm still playing around with that Bucky/Darcy/Steve two parter. It is being stubborn though. I really am rethinking writing it at this point. Someday, I guess!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
